A Home is Not a House
by Reni-Chan
Summary: Sam's father shows up during glee club activities, and doesn't like what he sees.  For xlilxlullaby, Kummer Summer


**Title: **A Home is Not a House

**Summary: **Sam's father shows up during glee club activities, and doesn't like what he sees. (For xlilxlullaby, Kummer Summer)

**Originally filling a prompt by xlilxlullaby on LJ's Kummer Summer.**

It was Thursday. Thursday's a funny day. You never expect anything big to happen on a Thursday. Friday, or Tuesday, maybe- but not Thursday.

This didn't change the fact that it was Thursday when Sam quit the Glee Club.

Kurt thought he knew why, too.

It all started Wednesday. Wednesday's were interesting. Again, not a day you expect anything big from- but you weren't as shocked when something happened on Wednesday as when something happened on a Thursday.

Kurt was sitting next to Sam, as usual, watching Tina sing a well-deserved solo. The two exchanged glances and smiles as Tina's happy eyes settled on Artie, who gave her a thumbs up and grinned. Tina and Mike had broken up on fairly good terms a few months ago, and the entire club had noticed the way Tina and Artie had begun to gravitate toward each other since.

Shifting his gaze from the happy "non-couple" to the blonde beside him, Kurt noted that Tina and Artie weren't the only ones who had seemed happier lately. The full grin on Sam's face left a smile on Kurt's, as well. It was nice to see him smile, and he'd been doing it a lot more often lately. Sam caught Kurt looking at him, and while Kurt's first instinct was to avert his gaze, he found he didn't need to. Meeting Kurt's blue eyes with his green ones, Sam's smile widened. He opened his mouth to speak when the door opened.

A tall, brown-haired man stood in the doorway, a confused expression upon his face. "Um- hey, sorry to bother you. I was wondering if someone could tell me where the football field is?"

Sam made a small choking sound. "D-dad?"

Kurt's eyes left the man in the doorway to settle on Sam, who looked scared for some reason. Mr. Schue finished apologizing to Tina for the interruption and was trying to give the man directions, but the green eyed man didn't seem to be listening. His eyes narrowed as they left Sam and looked around the room. Whatever he was seeing, he didn't seem to like.

"Samuel, what is this class...?" He asked, voice low and suspicious. A few of the other club members exchanged confused glances, but Kurt recognized that tone. He'd heard it many times over the years- sometimes from people he didn't even know.

Sam struggled to form words, stuttering and nervous. Seeing that Sam was too scared to explain to his father, Kurt stood. "This is the Glee Club, Mr. Evans. A show choir."

Kurt was glad now that Mr. Evans had never been around when he came by the hotel to help out. Those green eyes that had looked so much like Sam's earlier glared sharply at Kurt, who stood his ground and stared right back. If this man knew "someone like him" was around his children so often, he wouldn't be terribly happy about it.

Mr. Schue had picked up where Kurt had left off in his explanation, clearly not noticing the disgust in Mr. Evans' eyes- or the fear in Sam's, which grew as Mr. Schuester went on about what a valuable member of the club Sam was.

"Sam, get your stuff." Mr. Evans growled, interrupting Mr. Schuester's speech. "We're leaving."

"Wait, Dad- we -we're in the middle of rehearsal-" Sam finally said, his voice still scared, but a bit stronger now.

"I said we're leaving!" Mr. Evans shouted. "Don't make me drag you out of here!"

Eyes widened around the room. Brittany almost jumped out of her seat, Quinn glared at Mr. Evans, and Rachel exchanged a worried glance with Kurt. Mr. Schuester made a feeble attempt to calm the man down, but it was futile. Sam turned his head to Kurt, opening his mouth to speak, but no words coming out. His eyes were unsure, glancing between Kurt and his father.

Kurt was worried, but... "Maybe you should go." He whispered, out of Mr. Evans' earshot. "Before he gets any angrier."

"But-"

"Call me after school if you can." Kurt said, giving Sam's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "I'll have my phone on all night."

The blonde still looked unsure, but stood and walked slowly to his father with a quiet, "Bye, guys..." Once Sam was close enough, his father grabbed him by the arm and made good on his threat to literally "drag him out of the room". Indignant noises rose from the choir as Sam shouted for his father to "just calm down!", but to no effect.

Everyone looked to Kurt, then, as if he could explain what just happened. He was, after all, Sam's best friend. He would know best what was going on, wouldn't he? Kurt had no idea what to say to them, though. He was as lost as they were, and he didn't like it one bit.

Sam didn't call him after school. Kurt stayed up until midnight waiting, but to no avail. His phone rang once, and he had lunged for it like his life depended on answering that call- but it was just Rachel, wondering if he had heard anything.

Having to tell her no only made his worry grow stronger.

-break-

"I'm quitting Glee Club." Sam said, head ducked and barely audible. His father stood by his side, glaring around the room as if to dare any of them to argue Sam's decision. "I... I need to focus on football."

Kurt's face reflected those of the other kids as he stared, disbelieving, at the blonde hair that obscured Sam's face. Mr. Schue started in, talking about how well Sam had been juggling Glee and football since he had joined, but his father cut him off.

"My son has made his decision." He said, in a tone that implied there would be no attempts to convince Sam otherwise. "I would appreciate it if you would respect that."

He _seemed_ to be talking to Mr. Schuester, and his words _seemed _calm and respectful, but the way he glared at Kurt made it clear what he really meant.

_"Stay away from my son," _Those eyes said. Kurt glared right back, hoping his eyes sent the message he intended:

_"Like hell I will."_

When Kurt saw Sam again that day, it was after lunch and two classes. His father had gone "home", but Sam still seemed determined to not go anywhere near any members of the Glee Club. He walked through the halls with his school books held tightly to his chest and his head down, bumping into people a few times as he made his way to his locker.

Kurt had watched Sam doing this for far too long. Something was very wrong, and he wasn't going to just let it slide. He was storming over to the blonde boy's locker when said blonde lifted his head for what might have been the first time that day. Kurt's blue eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

"Sam." He said, voice choked, recognizing the mark as a bruise- a black eye, to be exact. Sam finally noticed his presence, fear filling his face. Dropping a book and leaving his locker door wide open, Sam took off down the hall.

"Sam, wait!" Kurt called after him. It was stupid to chase him- the boy was an _athlete, _for cripes sake- but he still ran. "Sam, what happened to your face?"

Green eyes met blue, then glanced around quickly to make sure no one was around. Then Sam ducked into the men's restroom with one last meaningful look at Kurt. Realizing Sam intended to explain, Kurt followed him in.

"Sam... What happened to you?" Kurt asked as Sam gripped the edges of a sink, staring at his bruised reflection in the mirror. He had a good idea of _what _had happened- he just needed to know _why_.

"My- my dad was pretty pissed about the whole Glee thing." Sam said, continuing to stare into his own pained eyes. "I guess I figured he would be- that's why I never told him. He- he really hates stuff like that. Says it's 'gay'."

"He hit you because of that?" Kurt asked softly, taking a careful step toward Sam.

"No. That's not why." Sam answered with a bitter laugh. "It's 'cause I wouldn't keep my mouth shut. He-"

Sam ducked his head, his hands tensing as he took a deep breath. "He- he called you a 'fag'." He finally said, voice full of anger. "And I got pissed."

"Sam..."

"I told him he couldn't call you that. That you were my best- my best friend." There was a glimmer of a sob in Sam's voice now. "He got mad- said I was a fag too- and punched me. Mom wasn't around but- but he did it right in front of Stacie and Stevie."

Sam's voice was breaking now. "_Right in front of them. _Stacie got so scared she started crying. Stevie yelled at him- and I think he would've- but I got in front of him, told him to leave them alone... so he hit me again, then he stormed out."

Finally Sam released the sink and turned to face Kurt. "I was so scared- and so _mad._ I- I've never been so angry at my dad..."

Kurt closed the distance between the two of them, wrapping Sam in a comforting hug. "Sam, I'm so, so sorry." He whispered in Sam's ear. "I had no idea..."

"Would've happened eventually, I guess." Said Sam with a humorless laugh as he returned the hug. "Even if he didn't find out about the whole show choir thing- he'd figure it out some other way."

Kurt furrowed his brow, pulling back from the hug. "Figure... what out?"

Sam heaved a sigh, running a hand through his blonde hair. "That I'm..." He bit his lip nervously, staring at his shoes. "I'm gay."

Blue eyes wide, Kurt stared at Sam, his mouth hanging open. "You're... I- I don't understand. I thought you were-"

"Everyone did. That's kind of what I was going for." Sam said, not raising his gaze from the floor. "At first I wasn't sure, but... It's just been getting more and more clear to me. So I got scared, and I've been trying to make everyone think I like girls- which isn't easy when _you're_ around."

"Excuse me?"

Sam raised his head. "I... like you. A lot. As more than a friend." He admitted. "I have for a long time and it... scared me. I thought liking you might make it more obvious that I was... y'know." He shook his head. "Guess it doesn't matter now. Even if I haven't admitted it, my dad still thinks it."

"Oh." Kurt stared at Sam's green eyes, which seemed to find something on the wall very interesting. He'd seen Sam as a straight guy, and a friend, for so long that it was a little strange to suddenly think of him as a... a romantic option. It seemed Sam didn't expect him to say anything about it at the moment- and there were more important things to talk about, so Kurt continued, "Do you have any idea what you're going to do? About... all of this?"

"What _can_ I do?" Sam asked, finally completely breaking the embrace and turning his back to Kurt. "Even if Mom finds out and gets pissed at Dad for it... we're not in any position for them to split up- we need all of the money we can get. I can't afford to move out, and they still need the money I'm making from my jobs. I just have to stay there and... hope it gets better."

Kurt chewed his lower lip thoughtfully as he considered this. "What if... you could live somewhere else without having to pay rent- and you could still give your family the money you make working?"

Sam turned back to Kurt. "Uh, you know any free apartments in Lima?" He asked sarastically, raising a blonde eyebrow. Kurt shook his head.

"No, not an apartment." He answered before locking eyes with the blonde. "My house. I'll ask my dad and Carole- once I tell them this-" he paused. "_If _you'll _let me_ tell them this," he corrected, "I'm sure they'll agree to let you stay. You might have to sleep on the couch- Dad's not terribly keen on... other gay boys sleeping in my room- but you'd have a free place to stay, and you could keep sending your money to your family. You'd be away from your dad, and-"

"Kurt..." Sam choked, eyes brimming with unshed tears. "You- you don't have to do this for me. You've already done way too much-"

"No." Kurt said firmly. "I don't think I've done enough. You're my best friend, Sam- I could never forgive myself if I didn't do everything I could to help you."

Within seconds Kurt was swept up in another hug. "I don't care what anyone says- you're the best friend _anyone _could ever ask for." Sam said. A tear hit Kurt's neck, and he realized Sam was crying. "Thank you!"

Kurt heaved a sigh. It was only a temporary solution to a problem that would probably take years to completely sort out- but it got Sam out of harm's way, and Kurt figured that as long as Sam wasn't around the motel his father would stay calm- which would keep Stevie and Stacie out of danger too.

"I'll go to the office and call my dad." Kurt said, loosening the embrace and patting Sam on the back. "Do you want to come with me?"

Sam thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. With a comforting smile, Kurt took Sam's hand and led him out into the hall.

Kurt noted how nice Sam's hand felt in his- especially when Sam squeezed Kurt's hand tighter, causing a small laugh to peal from the brunette's mouth, which inspired a smile from Sam that reached his green eyes. The first one Kurt had seen from him all day.

They would make it through this together- Kurt would make sure of that.


End file.
